The Letter
by systematic-alchemy
Summary: A letter gets handed down through the centuries, telling of two methods to end the troubles. (Does diverge from canon, but I tried to keep it within the realm of believability.) Written as part of the Troubled Tales Haven Fic Exchange for Rabbitt.


1631

A terrible year for the troubles had Edith trembling as Fitzwilliam stabbed Nathaniel, stopping his curse forever. Nathaniel, such a sweet boy, shouldn't have had to die like this, but his slow mind kept him from being able to work around his trouble. He could kill with a look when angered, and the death toll rose after he escaped his isolated cell.

She prayed for a way to banish these horrible troubles forever. Sitting under the moon with the boy's body in her arms, she got the answer for which she had asked. Not from the moon per se, but rather the memory of the past life 'rose up as she looked at the moon. There were two ways to end it, and she could do neither, leaving her impotent and enraged.

1658

After finding the letter, Linda hid it. She wanted no future self to do either of these things but couldn't bring herself to destroy the document. While she hid the letter, the meteor shower began. There was no way around it, she had to leave. Spending her last minutes with her husband, Linda swore to herself that some future her would find a different way to end the troubles. That one of them would be a true savior, taking no lives. Visions of Mara being dragged into the barn plagued Linda's heart.

1685

After the last disaster, Sofia sighed with relief as this trouble disappeared so easily. Just a simple comment to the woman and it was gone. She had responded so well to the notion of being as beautiful as she felt, Sofia was sure that no one else in her line would be cursed to disfigure anyone that slighted them.

When she found the letter it destroyed her day. How could she be responsible for anything so grievous? The start and potential end to the troubles were too shocking to think about. She put the letter back where she found it.

1712

When the barn came for Mildred, she lamented on her inability to find answers. Real answers were all she had ever wanted. Who was she? Where did she come from other than a mysterious barn? What kind of person had she been before? Was she human? Were the troubled people? Were they victims of someone not human? A niggle at the back of her brain asked a question refusing to surface even in her head. Did she do this? Mildred did not find the letter holding all the answers she sought.

1739

When Penny found the letter she knew there was no way for her to go through with killing the person she loved most or the other way either. Almost unreadable, so she knew she needed to make a copy. But should she give it to a friend to pass on or should she hide it too? How would the world change in the next twenty-seven years? Would the next the next woman to wear her face be able to find it? Or would the world have excavated this place and destroyed what she hoped that woman would find? She simply hoped a future self would do what she would not.

1766

When Daniel handed Margaret the letter, he said none of her former selves had the strength to do what needed to be done. So she closed her eyes and made a wish before opening and reading it. Her heart disintegrated as her eyes took it all in.

"This can't be true! I refuse to believe something so terribly dreadful!"

She caused the troubles? Why would she have ever, in any life, done something so horrific? But without knowing she'd started it all, she wouldn't have understood the price she would need to pay to stop it. Margaret handed the letter back.

1793

Laverne would have done the second thing the letter said would cure every troubled person in the world. She would have done it in a heartbeat, except the first was impossible. That made it inconceivable to do the other. She loved Ingrid too much to put her through the same barbarity. Ingrid's life was horrific enough as it was and Laverne refused to pile on more. She passed the letter on to Haddy Driscoll right before walking into the barn, secure in the knowledge that a future version of herself would do what she couldn't. 'May God have mercy on us.'

1901

The Chief waited until Veronica knew that she had multiple lives before giving her the letter. But they got sidelined by a trouble, and she didn't get to read it until the day before entering the barn. There was no one here that she loved, so that option was out. And the alternative wasn't a choice for her. There was no way she would activate the Crocker Curse in a ten year old girl. It didn't matter who it would save. There were just things one did not do. She entered the barn with a clear conscience and her head high.

1928

Speakeasies and prohibition were polarizing enough in Haven, Gerald Teagues said, but the return of the troubles always put everyone on edge. He told Nancy more people were troubled this time than had ever been before. Things got so bad they had to cut a boy's vocal chords out, and Nancy wanted nothing more than to end the troubles, and she was ready and willing to die if need be. But the person she needed help from, according to the letter, refused to do what she asked of them. They said the cost was too high. She begged and pleaded for months, but they moved away without telling their destination.

1955

Sarah's reaction to the letter was simple. "Let some other version of me do what needs to be done." It had been Dave Teagues who handed it to her, claiming it his responsibility, and only when they talked it over had she admitted to him that she was pregnant. Here, there was no way they could commit such an act as the letter demanded.

They tried their best for her, to destroy the barn, to prevent her being erased. She would return to Haven, though, someday, and be reunited with her son. At least some part of her continued on.

1982

Lucy and James read the letter together, mother and son reunited through their turbulent stay in Haven. No matter what Lucy said, James didn't believe that she'd value him over the countless that would be saved if she sacrificed him. Lucy couldn't believe that he'd think that when he worked so hard to convince her not to try any other recourse. She knew how much he loved her. And Lucy could deny her son nothing. He convinced her so well, she dug the deepest of any other life to find answers to how it all worked and found nothing good.

2012

After Duke exploded, something had to stop these new super-charged troubles from killing everyone, or worse, spreading out into the world. Audrey begged Vince and Dave to stop being cryptic with her and just tell her what she could do. She already knew one way, but she didn't believe she had it in herself to kill Nathan. Dave finally spilled the beans, so Audrey went to Duke, knowing that this would destroy him. They looked at each other, and he said, "Now we know why my father said I had to kill you."

Teary she said, "Please, Duke, do it. You still have the Crocker trouble, and the letter said if you absorb my trouble, all the others will go away too. What choice do we have?"

"Nathan'll never forgive me."

She hugged him. "I'm sorry. I wish there was another way. This is a sacrifice you and I have to make. But it's not your fault. You have nothing to feel guilty for, and Nathan will heal one day. You know it's the right thing to do, don't you?"

Duke's eyes filled as Audrey's tears fell, but he forced a laugh. "The universe really does hate us, doesn't it?"

"But I'm the only one that deserves it. Do it quickly. Don't let me think too much about it." All the same, she thought about Nathan, missing her, discovering what they'd done, and despite her resolve couldn't stay strong, couldn't help but start shaking as she watched the light glint off the knife. She saw Duke's hesitation intensify until he dug the knife into her gut his eyes flashed silver for a split second when a drop of Audrey's blood absorbed into his skin.

In a flash, Audrey remembered every life she'd lived. She could see the sheer destruction she'd caused as Mara, and the ripple effect through history devastating so many lives. And somewhere deep inside her, Mara felt that anguish. Her pain had a cleansing effect. A light exploded from those depths and flashed over the entire world, healing it. And that's when Audrey knew the truth. When she took ultimate responsibility and was willing to sacrifice herself, things would be alright.

As Duke pressed on Audrey's wound, blood poured over his hands. His skin no longer sucked the blood up, and Audrey could tell his trouble was gone. He placed her hands on the wound. "Press down, hard."

Duke carried her to his truck, and she said, "Maybe the universe... ugh this hurts... doesn't hate us after all?"

"Keep putting pressure on that. And if you survive this, you might be right."

"Why the... damn... gut?"

"I panicked. Might be a good thing." His smile was meant to make her feel better, she could tell, but she passed out before she could call him on it.

* * *

She woke in a bright room flanked by Nathan and Duke. "Can you feel again?"

"I can, but Duke won't tell me why."

"It's nothing. Hey, Duke, I was right." Her voice was soft and drugged.

"Yes you were."

She looked at the IV in her hand, "Morphine's nice." Nathan and Duke began to bicker, soothing Audrey back to sleep. The world was as it should be.


End file.
